Washburn volleyball rallies for five-set victory against Augustana

Friday

Sep 4, 2015 at 9:04 PM

Richard Kelly

Following a sweep of South Dakota Mines to open the Washburn Invitational, the No. 14 Ichabods looked destined to lose their first ever game in the invitational, dropping the first two sets to Augustana at Lee Arena.

But with momentum swaying in their direction, the Ichabods found a way back to force a decisive fifth set. And in the final set, Washburn’s Leanna Willer propelled the Ichabods with five kills, leading WU to a 17-25, 23-25, 25-22, 25-23, 15-10 victory.

Facing off against the Vikings, who also won their first match of the day, the Ichabods looked rattled in the first set, down 12-6.

Looking to mount a comeback, down 17-8, Washburn cut the lead to 17-12 with four straight points. But with a strong performance by Augustana’s Sydney Hunsley, the Vikings never allowed Washburn to get it any closer. Hunsley finished with four kills in the first set.

"We just got totally dominated in games one and two," Washburn coach Chris

Herron said. "We weren’t in it at all."

With Augustana leading 2-0 in the second set, the arena was asked to be evacuated due to a fire alarm. Another evacuation of the arena came with Augustana leading 12-10.

Unfortunately the alarms didn’t put a fire under the Ichabods in the set.

Washburn cut the lead to 12-11 following the return to play, but Augustana squeaked out a 25-23 victory.

Multiple service errors cost the Ichabods down the stretch. Down 24-23, Washburn appeared to have momentum, but a long serve by Taylor Selk put Washburn down 2-0.

The third set started strong for Washburn with a 5-0 lead. Augustana battled back, but WU kept its opponent at arm’s length and forced a fourth set. Sarah Vicory led the way in the third set, notching five kills.

The fourth set started promising again for Washburn, but Augustana took its first lead of the set at 10-9. Washburn, however, answered and led 23-19 late before Augustana cut the lead to 23-22.

But Vicory came up big again, tallying the winning kill to force the final set.

"In games three, four, and five, we started to get our hands on some of their balls," Herron said. "Then we found a way to beat them in transition."

Herron said a game like this will do wonders for his team as the season progresses.

"That’s a really good team we played tonight," Herron said. "This was a really good win for us."

Emporia State also opened the season at the Washburn Invitational, defeating Black Hills State University 3-0. The Lady Hornets fell in their second game, losing 3-1 to Drury University.

Advertising

Stay Connected

Original content available for non-commercial use under a Creative Commons license, except where noted.
The Topeka Capital-Journal ~ 616 SE Jefferson, Topeka, KS 66607 ~ Privacy Policy ~ Terms Of Service